Shloka 48

Brahmacarya-Upāya: Jñāna, Śauca, and the Mind’s Role in Desire (शान्ति पर्व, अध्याय २०७)

Devanagari script

नारदो5प्यथ कृष्णस्य परं मेने नराधिप । शाश्वतत्वं महाबाहो यथावद्‌ भरतर्षभ

Transliteration

nārado 'py atha kṛṣṇasya paraṃ mene narādhipa | śāśvatatvaṃ mahābāho yathāvad bharatarṣabha ||

Translation

ভীষ্ম বললেন—হে নরাধিপ! নারদও শ্রীকৃষ্ণকে পরম বলে মেনেছিলেন। হে মহাবাহু, হে ভরতর্ষভ! তিনি শ্রীকৃষ্ণের শাশ্বত স্বভাব যথাযথভাবে জেনেছিলেন।

Word by Word

नारदःNarada

अपिalso/even

अथthen/now

कृष्णस्यof Krishna

परम्supremacy/superiority (as the highest)

मेनेconsidered/thought

नराधिपO king (lord of men)

शाश्वतत्वम्eternity/everlastingness

महाबाहोO mighty-armed one

यथावत्properly/as it should be

भरतर्षभO bull of the Bharatas (best of Bharata lineage)

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhīṣma

Nārada

Kṛṣṇa

Yudhiṣṭhira (narādhipa)

Bharata lineage (bharatarṣabha)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse asserts that the highest spiritual authorities—here, the sage Nārada—recognize Kṛṣṇa as the Supreme and eternal reality. Ethically, it frames devotion and right conduct as grounded in correct understanding (yathāvat) of the divine’s true nature.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Śānti Parva dialogue, Bhīṣma instructs King Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and higher truths. Here he cites Nārada’s judgment as testimony that Kṛṣṇa is supreme and eternal, strengthening Yudhiṣṭhira’s confidence in Kṛṣṇa’s status and guidance.